Links

The Calgary Flames have a new coaching staff, a new powerplay quarterback and a hat-trick of new forwards with a penchant for putting the puck in the net.

Until the NHL and the NHLPA have a new collective bargaining agreement, none of that really matters.

The labour stalemate and the waiting game continues, with the NHL announcing Friday the cancellation of all games through the end of November.

The Flames were slated to hit the ice for a dozen games next month. After scrapping eight tilts in October, that’s a grand total of 20 lost contests.

And there’s no guarantee it will end there.

“I was talking to one of my buddies the other day, just kind of joking around with him, and I said ‘I dropped out of college to chase my dream of playing in the NHL, and now I’m just a college dropout that doesn’t have a job,’ ”

said Flames defenceman Chris Butler, frustrated to be home in St. Louis instead of skating at the Saddledome.

“It’s just a terrible feeling. I think I echo probably every single player in the league — it’s fun to be in the locker-room every day and laugh and joke and tell stories and work hard in practice and work on your game and prepare.

“It’s what we’ve been bred to do for a long period of time, and every single guy enjoys doing it.

“To have that taken away from you and not be able to do that, I think you almost feel lost.”

Question is, will the entire season be lost as the two sides try to split up a US$3.3-billion pie?

Just days before the collective bargaining agreement expired in mid-September, Flames captain Jarome Iginla told reporters “I would rather not, but I am willing to” sit out the full season to get a fair deal.

On Thursday, Flames forward Michael Cammalleri also set the stage for a lengthy standoff.

“It’s disappointing that the approach for Gary (Bettman) and the ownership group has been to make these hard dates and final offers and not budging and on and on,” Cammalleri told TSN Radio in Toronto. “There’s no real answer to why except ‘We think we can lock you out and your careers are short, and we can shake you down.’

“Not a good feeling.”

The best-case scenario is a Dec. 1 puck-drop, with speculation the season would be shortened to 66 or 72 games.

On Saturday’s Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, offensive-minded Flames defenceman Dennis Wideman was supposed to face his former team — the Washington Capitals — for the first time.

That reunion will have to wait.

Free-agent signees Roman Cervenka and Jiri Hudler can stick around Europe for at least a few more weeks.

High-scoring prospect Sven Baertschi — now eligible for full-time duty after a five-game stint on emergency recall last spring — will have to stay in Abbotsford, where he’s starring for the AHL’s Heat.

Incoming bench boss Bob Hartley and his assistants will try to keep busy, too, planning and then re-planning for the point the stars start showing up at the Saddledome.

Friday’s announcement, which means 326 regular-season showdowns — 26.5% of the full schedule — have now been scrapped, isn’t good news in any NHL market, but it could be especially tough to stomach for the Flames faithful.

“From talking to the guys at the (NHLPA) meetings we had in New York City a little while back, I think everybody was very optimistic. Everyone was very excited about getting this season, in particular, under way,” Butler said.

“It’s just frustrating to not be able to get together as a group and play and practise and find out what we’re really capable of.”